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Who says you need an attorney or even have any legal experience? With this DBA guide, anyone can file their own assumed business name in South Dakota. You’ll find out how quickly the application process goes and you get SD DBA in no time. So read on to get your application started.
Important! Please keep in mind that DBA is not a business structure, so it won’t protect you from liabilities, lawsuits, or any other unforeseen situations. DBA stands for Doing Business As. – often precedes the name under which a business operates, which is not the legal name of the business.
Therefore, before starting, make sure you understand the difference between informal business structures such as sole proprietorship and formal ones like corporations and LLCs.
To register or renew the trademark, trade name, or service mark for your company in South Dakota you need to file the application to the Secretary of State. Here is what you need to do:
South Dakota Business Entity Search
Your company’s trade name should be unique and have not been acquired by any other entity in South Dakota. Moreover, this name must also meet the business name requirements of South Dakota.
First, you have to search the South Dakota Secretary of State’sBusiness Name Search portal for the DBA, Business, & Fictitious names. Check the portal thoroughly to know whether the name that you wish to have for your business has already been taken by someone or not. Make sure, this name isn’t already in use.
Note: You can also find a complete guide on business name search here.
Once you are done searching, the next step is to review the naming requirements of the state of South Dakota. In general, your DBA should not include:
- Words such as LLC, Incorporated, Corp, or any business entity suffix, unless the business is actually an LLC, corporation, etc.
- Any word that indicates that the business is established for unlawful purpose.
Register Your South Dakota DBA ($10)
You can file a South Dakota DBA with the secretary of state using the online portal for DBA Name.
Top Tip:
Instead of doing it yourself, save some time by hiring a reliable formation service like ZenBusiness. You can see editors’ Review on ZenBusiness to decide if it’s the best choice for your company.
The following information must include in the South Dakota trade name form:
- Your business name and adress
- Owners/partners of the business and addresses
- Entity type (eg; LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation)
- Trade name’s description
Renew, Change or Withdraw Your South Dakota DBA
Renew Your Fictitious Name With the State ($10)
After every five years, the Certificate of South Dakota Assumed Business Name expires. So for the renewal of DBA in South Dakota, you can file online on the secretary of state’s website.
Change Your Fictitious Name ($10)
If you wish to make changes in address or ownership in your South Dakota assumed business name, you can do it by completing the respective DBA amendment form online. If you want to change the DBA name, you need to file for a new one.
Withdraw Your Fictitious Name
You can cancel your South Dakota assumed business name by filling the Cancellation of the DBA online. There is no fee for the cancelation of DBA in SD.
